Brian Kanowsky

Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House’s Energy and Commerce committee, has sent a letter (PDF) to Indiana’s official lobbyist to inquire why Indiana is lobbying for the Keystone XL Pipeline project.

From the letter:

I have subsequently learned that in the fourth quarter of 2011 you received $50,500 in state taxpayer funds as a lobbyist for the State of Indiana, including for lobbying related to Keystone XL. This seems unusual as the State does not have an obvious interest in seeing the Keystone XL project constructed. The proposed route for the Keystone XL pipeline does not pass through the State of Indiana, nor does it come close to the State’s borders; the nearest the proposed route would approach would be hundreds of miles away in Nebraska and Kansas. Indiana facilities would not have access to the pipeline, nor would it appear that Indiana would particularly benefit from any economic activity associated with the construction of the pipeline.

The Keystone XL Pipeline is a project of a Canadian oil company, TransCanada.

The lobbyist in question is Deborah Hohlt, who frequently represents the state of Indiana. Her latest lobbying disclosure (PDF) shows a wide variety of topics, ranging from the Farm Bill to transportation issues to “Clean coal, carbon capture and storage (CCS), biofuels tax extenders, climate change, Keystone XL Pipeline”.

Deborah Hohlt is a former Deputy Chief of Staff for the Republican National Committee. She worked in public affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services, before swinging through the revolving door and working for Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Eli Lilly. (Hohlt was Director of Public Affairs at Eli Lilly from 1995-2001, where current Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was Senior VP of Corporate Strategy from 1997-2001, and President of North American Operations from 11993-1997.)

Deborah Hohlt is the wife of Richard Hohlt, the powerful lobbyist and GOP fundraiser. During the trial of Scooter Libby, Robert Novak disclosed that he had revealed the identity of then-covert CIA officer Valerie Plame to Richard Hohlt before the infamous column hit the papers. Richard Hohlt confirmed to Newsweek that he had faxed a copy of the article to Karl Rove before it was published.

A tip of the hat to Marueen Groppe for tweeting about this news bit today.

Waxman has asked Indiana's lobbyist for a meeting "to learn about Indiana's interest."

February 2, 2012 11:56 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@mgroppe

Maureen Groppe

UPDATE: According to TransCanada’s own filings, the pipeline would increase the cost of oil across the Midwest.

UPDATE 2: Couldn’t find this link earlier, but here’s a blog post from January 26 by Josh Israel and Brad Johnson at Think Progress, which was the first I saw to note the lobbying disclosure.

The governor refers to Indiana as the island of prosperity. We’re the island of secrets. - Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson

On Tuesday, Indiana Senate minority leader Vi Simpson (D-Ellettsville) called out Governor Mitch Daniels and his administration for their culture of secrecy around state budgeting and spending. Specifically, Simpson and State Rep. Bill Crawford (D-Indianapolis) want to know what services, programs, and personnel have been cut under Daniels’ repeated budget crises.

Daniels’ budget director, Chris Ruhl, told Simpson that “a comprehensive list of executive branch budget reductions wasn’t available”. If our leaders don’t have access to this information, how can they make informed decisions? And how can citizens cast an informed ballot if neither voters nor lawmakers have any information?

Of course, it isn’t just budget information that the Daniels administration has been unable or unwilling to provide.

Indiana reporters, especially the team at WTHR in Indianapolis, have spent months trying to confirm the jobs numbers that Daniels has been touting, to no avail. Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) head Mitch Roob – last seen presiding over the disastrous privatization of Indiana’s welfare system – said of the jobs data, "We don’t share it with the public. We don’t release it to the news media. That’s confidential information." States surrounding Indiana, including Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, make that information public.

And when Mitch Daniels is asked to back up the numbers, all he can do is walk away:

It’s no surprise that Mitch Daniels doesn’t want the public to have this information – when WTHR went to investigate some of the jobs that Mitch Daniels says he’s brought to Indiana, they found abandoned factories and empty fields.

Mitch Daniels’ culture of secrecy also extends to the much-maligned Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The Gary Post-Tribune’s Gitte Laasby has done some incredible (and award-winning) work investigating stories about BP’s environmental permits and the pile of toxic steel waste named after former steel executive and current IDEM director Tom Easterly. Laasby’s editor, suspecting that the agency was “intentionally withholding and otherwise seeking to squelch information,” asked her to request records from IDEM that mentioned Laasby. The result?

Note that, other than the note at the top, every single word is redacted because the words are of ultimate import to the secrets of the state Indiana that all words cannot be released. Every article, noun, verb, dependent clause, all fall under the heading of being so much of a sensitive nature that no one should know about it. And even Laasby’s name, which was part of the open records request — if it exists in the blackness somewhere — is too dangerous to release to the public.

Each of these instances of Mitch Daniels hiding public information from Hoosier voters is troubling, but together they form an unmistakable pattern. As Senator Simpson put it, it is a culture of secrecy that pervades the entire executive branch.

Senator Simpson indicated that Democrats will be developing and introducing legislation designed to increase transparency, including  “easy online access to budget and spending information”. And that’s a good start, but it isn’t enough. Indiana’s antiquated public access laws need a wholesale revision. And we need to start supporting candidates who make transparency and open government a key part of their agenda. In Indiana, that starts with electing Pete Buttigieg to the Treasurer’s office and Sam Locke to the Auditor’s office this November.

Crossposted at Blue Indiana and Daily Kos